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('No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. W. CARTER.

GAR BRAKE.

No. 520,821. Patented June 5, 1894.

3 Shets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

(1. w. CARTER.

GAR-BRAKE.

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(No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 3.

0. W. CARTER.

GAR BRAKE.

No. 520,821. Patented June 5, 1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE WfCARTER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO THE CARTER CAR-BRAKE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,821, dated June 5, 1894.

Application filed July 29,1893- .To all whpm it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE W. CARTER, of the city of Minneapolis, county of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, have invented a certam new andImproved Car-Brake, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a brake apparatus for railroad or street cars, and the object of my Invention is to provide a brake in which there shall be less slack chain, in consequence of wh1ch the brake may be more quickly applied or released; and a further or more important object is to provide a brake apparatus which may be additionally and strongly operated by the movement of the car wheels; and further to provide automatic means for taklng up wear of the shoes.

My invention further consists in constructlons and combinations all as hereinafter descr bed and particularly pointed out in the claims, and will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a car truck, provided with brake apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 shows a similar form of brake'with take-up for both trucks of a car. Fig. 3 is asimilar view showlng one truck provided with a downwardly acting outside brake. Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the reverse of Fig. 3, namely the inside form of my downwardly acting brake. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail from Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse vertical section of a car-truck showing the means for automatically taking up wear in the shoes.

The form of brake shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is what may be termed the reversal of that which is illustrated in a contemporary application of mine having Serial No. 462,046. The brake shoes instead of engaging the outside of the wheels of the truck are arranged be 'tween the wheels.

In Fig. 1, 2 and 3 represent two shoes or two pairs of shoes arranged upon the brake beams 4 and 5, respectively. One or more strong rods 6 extend through and between the brake beams at opposite ends thereof and serve to hold the beams a given distance apart, the distance being such that when the shoes are normally supported by the hangers Serial No. 481,802. (No model.)

The action of the shoes after being moved into engagement with the wheels, may be described as follows: Suppose the wheels to be revolving toward the left in the drawings, the shoes 2 will travel downward with the downward traveling peripheries of their wheels until reaching the limit provided for by the supports or hangers 7 at the same time the shoes 3 will travel upward with the upward traveling peripheries of their wheels. The upward travel not being limited by the supports 7 but being limited only by the connecting rods 6,permits the frictional engagement between these shoes and their wheels, tending to lock the shoes thereon, to assist in setting the brakes; working as it does in conjunction with the similarly directed pull of the take-up. I

It is obvious that if the wheels are traveling in an opposite direction, that is, to the right, the reverse of this action will occur; It is also obvious that the power applied to the take-up would be proportionately increased by the frictional engagement of the upward traveling shoes with the upward traveling peripheries of their wheels, and this regard- 0 less of which pair of shoes rises and the consequent direction of rotation of the wheels.

I may employ take-ups of various forms. That shown in Fig. 1 consists in a simple loop 10 of rods and chain having its ends fastened 9 5 in the middle of the brake beams and its upper portion carried upon thefixed sheave 11 and the sheave 12, which latter is held in the 7 bell crank 13 pivoted upon the block 14.

From the upper end of the bell crank a chain [C0 15 extends to the brake stem 16, which may also be made to operate upon the brake of the other truck by connecting the bell cranks thereof, with the bell crank shown, by means of a rod or chain 17. These parts in any suitable relation to one another may be connected with the automatic air-brake apparatus. The take-up shown in Fig. 2 differs from that shown in Fig.1 in that the bell crank is omitted and longer loops employed in connection with two movable sheave blocks 18 connected with the brake lever 19 pivoted on the carbody, and itself connected with the brakestem by the usual rod and chain 20.

The principle of two pairs of vertically movable shoes, the vertical travel and frictional engagement of one set of shoes aiding in the application of the brakes as a whole, may be embodied as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In the former the brake-shoes 21 and 22, upon the beams 23 and 24, are arranged to engage the outside of the peripheries of the wheels. The beams are connected by one or more tie rods 25, and the whole brake-frame is suspended above the centers of the wheels by suitable means, such as the springs 26 depending from the car-body. The springs normally hold the beams up against suitable stops 27; or limiting straps may extend up from the lower parts of the car-truck. It will be seen that as soon as the four shoes are depressed to engage their wheels one pair of shoes will travel upward until they reach their limiting stop 27. At the same time the other pair of shoes will be drawn downward with the downward traveling peripheries of their wheels, their downward travel being limited only by the tie-rods 25, thus making use of the frictional engagement of these shoes with their wheels to help set the brake. For actuating the brakes to set the same, I employ bell cranks 28, the lower arms of which either rest upon the tops of the brake-beams or are connected therewith by the links 29, as shown in Fig. 5. A suitable take-up 30 is provided in connection with the two bell cranks for rock ing the same. In Fig. 4 the brake shoes are shown upon the inside of the wheels to act downwardly after the manner of the brake shown in Fig. 1. The take-up and bellcranks shown in Fig. 3 are also applied to the brake beams of Fig. 4:. I

The employment of the connecting rods between the brake-beams, or the use of flexible but inelastic connections, such as chains, in the outside forms, furnishes convenient means for the application of an automatic take-up for wear, and for this purpose I provide upon the rods either inside or outside of the brake-beams, according to the construction of the brake, internally threaded ratchet wheels 33, engaging threaded ends of the rods and serving as looking nuts. In connection with these I provide spring or like pawls 34 preferably carried upon the beams and from the ends of which small straps or chains 35 extend to a fixed part of the truck. When the brake beam is moved out of its normal position the hook end of the pawl is obviously held in place while the ratchet nut or wheel moves with the brake-beam. If the wear in the shoe has been considerable the beam will be raised to such a height as to move one of the teeth of the ratchet past the pawl, and when the beam is returned to its normal position the ratchet wheel or nutwill be turned to shorten or lengthen the connecting rod, as required upon the outside and inside-form of brake with which the automatic take-up is employed. In this way the shoes are kept at just the proper distance from the peripheries of the wheels and the amount of slack in the brake chain will always be substantially the same, a great advantage where air-brakes are used.

It is obvious that various modifications of the details of my invention would readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art and I therefore do not confiiie myself to any particular construction herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the truck wheels, of the brake shoes and their beams, a rod or rods immovably connecting and relatively fixing said beams, means for moving said shoes into engagement with the wheels, and means for taking up the wear in the shoes, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the truck wheels, of the brake shoes and their beams, a rod or rods immovablyconnecting said beams, means for moving said shoes into engagement with the wheels, and automatic means for taking up the wear in the shoes, substantially as described. s

3. The combination, with the truck, of the opposite and relatively fixed brake shoes situated between the pairs of Wheels, hangers for the same, and a takenp connected with, and for movingthe opposite shoes into engagement with the wheels, whereby the same are semiautomatically set, substantially as described.

4.. The combination, with the truck, of the relatively fixed brake shoes and beams situated between the pairs of wheels, hangers for said beams, and a takeup for lifting the shoes into engagement with the wheels, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the truck, of the brake shoes and beams situated between the pairs of wheels,of the truck, hangers for said beams, and a take-up loop for moving the pairs of shoes into engagement with the wheels, and having its ends secured upon opposite brake beams, sheaves for supporting the upper part of the loop, and a bell crank arranged in connection with one of the sheaves, and means for operating the bell crank, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the truck, of the brake-shoes, and the beam or beams belonging thereto, a rod or rods immovably connecting said beams, supports for said beams, and

a bell crank device for moving the pairs of shoesinto engagement with the brake wheels, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a car-truck, of the brake-shoes, a rod or rods connecting and relatively fixing the same, hangers therefor,

means for moving the whole to set the shoes, said rod or rods having threaded ends, ratchet nuts thereon, a pawl or pawls to engage said ratchet or ratchets and connected with a fixed part of the truck, whereby the operation of the brake results in the automatic adj ustment of the shoes to take up Wear, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the truck, of the brake shoes belonging to the wheels in opposite pairs, said shoes being relatively fixed and normally supported but both shoes adapted and free to be moved toward the plane of the wheel axles, and means for vertically moving either one of said shoes or both against their wheels, whereby the frictional engagementof one shoe with its wheel and tending in the same direction as the vertically moving force, assists in setting both shoes against their wheels, all without regard to the direction of rotation of the wheels, substantially as described. e

9. The combination, with the truck, of the brake shoes of the two pairs of wheels, all of I said brake shoes being relatively fixed with respect to the movement toward or from one another, means for normally supporting said shoes, and means for moving either or both pairs of shoes into engagement with the wheels whereby all the shoes are set against the wheels, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with the truck, of the shoes with the supports for said shoes adapted to limit the vertical movement of said shoes away from the wheels but not limiting vertical movement toward the same, and means for moving the shoes of either pair of wheels or of both pairs into engagement therewith, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with the truck, of the relatively fixed brake-shoes, supports for said shoes adapted to limit the vertical movement of said shoes away from the wheels but permitting unlimited vertical movement toward the same, and means for moving the shoes of either pair of wheels or of both pair into engagement therewith, substantially as described. l

12. The combination, with the truck, of the brake -shoes, with supports therefor, said shoes being relatively fixed with respect to movement toward or from one another, means for moving the shoes into engagement with the wheels, and automatic means for taking up wear in the shoes, substantially as described. V

13. The combination, with the truck, of the brake-shoes and beams, supports therefor, the rod or rods connecting and passing through said beams, locking nuts securing the ends of the rod or rods in said beams, and a take-up for moving the shoes into engagement with the wheels, substantially as described.

14. The combination, with the truck, of the brake-shoesbelonging tooppositewheels upon the same side of the truck, said shoes being relatively fixed, supports for said shoes, and a take-up connected with the shoes, and, with said supports adapted to permit the see-saw movement of the brake-shoes with the relatively fixing device, whereby either shoe may be moved toward the plane of the wheel axles,

, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

15. The combination, with the truck, of the brake-shoes belonging to the Wheels thereof, a brake-frame relatively fixing all of said shoes, supports for said brake-frame adapted to permit the see-saw movement thereof caused by a change in the runningdirection of the'wheels and at the time of setting the brake, and a take-up for moving said shoes into engagement with the wheels regardless of the running direction thereof, substan tially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 11th day of July, 1893.

CLARENCE W. CARTER. In presence of- O. G. HAWLEY, F. S. LYON. 

